South Korea’s President Yoon survives impeachment motion after ruling party boycotts vote

Beleaguered South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday survived an impeachment motion triggered by his short-lived failed attempt to impose martial law earlier this week, after his ruling party boycotted the vote, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.

The motion, tabled by opposition politicians including the leading Democratic Party, needed the support of two-thirds of South Korea’s 300-member National Assembly to pass. Allied lawmakers walked out ahead of the vote on Saturday, making it impossible to meet the required quorum for the impeachment vote.

Opposition members have previously said they would revisit the impeachment measure on Wednesday, if it failed the first time.

If successful, the motion would have stripped Yoon of his presidential authority with immediate effect. A presidential election would have to be held within 60 days if the incumbent is dismissed or resigns.

A second special counsel investigation bill against first lady Kim Keon Hee, who has recently been accused of exerting inappropriate influence, failed to pass in a Saturday vote, Reuters reported.

South Korea is no stranger to such proceedings, with two heads of state previously impeached since the turn of the century: Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 and Park Geun-hye in 2016.

Yoon, who clinched power in a neck-and-neck presidential race in 2022, had an approval rate of just 19% before unexpectedly invoking martial law earlier this week for the first time since the military coup of 1979.

He cited the need to “protect the constitutional order based on freedom and eradicate shameful pro-North Korea anti-state groups, that are stealing freedom and happiness of our people,” according to NBC News reporting.

With 190 members present and protesters to the streets, the country’s parliament passed a resolution to lift martial law – as the political whiplash bled into the markets of Asia’s fourth-largest economy. South Korea’s Financial Services Commission said it stood ready to deploy a combined 50 trillion won ($35.22 billion) in funds to stabilize domestic stock and bond markets if needed, amid volatility.

Speaking on CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” Friday, Adarsh Sinha, co-head of Asia rates & FX strategy at BofA Securities, warned that the Korean won could see “big moves” following the weekend’s vote, but stressed that the currency was also under pressure for fundamentals reasons, such as the likelihood of the Bank of Korean cutting rates.

“I think, generally, our view for the Korean won, not for political reasons, is bearish,” he said.

Harking back to South Korea’s past of military rule, the short-lived martial law fiasco paralyzed domestic politics and swirled international concerns over one of the strongest standing democracies in Asia.

Han Dong-hoon, leader of the ruling People Power Party, has called for Yoon’s suspension from his duties, indicating worries that the president could once more take a “radical” action such as reimposing martial law, according to Yonhap.

Freshly minted Acting Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho, who took over after his predecessor Kim Yong-hyun resigned on Thursday, has said he would not obey such orders.

On Saturday, Yoon made his first public appearance since the Tuesday incident, pledging there would be no second attempt to invoke martial law.

“I am sincerely sorry and apologize to the people who must have been very surprised,” Yoon said in a televised public address, according to Yonhap. “I will not avoid legal and political responsibility related to this martial law declaration.”